Woodward is a Sean thing as spot-on Wokingham and Emmbrook book place in quarter-finals of the Supplementary Cup

Sumas boss Dan Bateman praises his young side as they dispose of Hellenic Premier Division side Thame United following a penalty shoot out victory which saw replacement keeper Woodward save three spot kicks.

Sean Woodward (left) in action for Wokingham and Emmbrook against Thame on Saturday - having shelving plans to go away in order to help the side out of a 'keeper crisis. (Image: Katie Lamb)

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Dan Bateman has said his Wokingham and Emmbrook side are “ready to take on anybody” in the Hellenic Supplementary Cup after disposing of Premier Division side Thame United at the weekend.

The Sumas booked their place in the last eight of the competition with a 4-3 penalty shoot-out success at Lowther Road on Saturday.

This was after the game had finished 0-0 at the end of both normal and extra time.

Despite the tie being only the second game the club has been able to complete in 2014 due to the bad weather postponing matches, Wokingham are enjoying a run of form which has seen them lose just twice in their last 14 matches in all competitions.

And with confidence high in the group, joint-boss Bateman told the Wokingham Times how his charges do not fear anyone at the moment, either in the cup or Hellenic Division 1 East.

He said: “The way we are playing at the moment, we will take on anybody.

“Bracknell Town are still in the competition, so that would be a good local derby.

“If we have to play away it would be nice to be somewhere local, but I don’t mind who we are drawn against to be honest.

“I have always said we have the ability to play in the Premier Division.

“I thought a draw was a fair result on Saturday. We had four first-team regulars missing for the game, but those we brought in showed they are more capable of doing a job.

“We might be a young side, but they are full of potential and definitely have the ability to play at a higher level.”

The game with Thame represented something of a fairytale ending for Sean Woodward, who kept out three penalties as the hosts went on to settle the encounter in sudden death.

Bateman explained how regular No.1 Ashley Withers broke his hand at work the day before the game – and that Woodward was initially unavailable as he was going away.

The shot-stopper, however, shelved his plans to help out the club, something which his manager is grateful for.

“Sean was going away with his girlfriend, but once he heard of our goalkeeping crisis he said he would come and play, which was really good of him,” said Bateman.

“We have two very good goalkeepers at this club in Sean and Ashley, and he proved that on Saturday with some great saves in the game before making more in the shoot-out.

“We had every confidence in him and he helped us reach the quarter-finals.”

Woodward is no stranger to success in penalty shootouts, having kept out Finchampstead when Wokingham and Emmbrook beat their local rivals in the semi-final of the Reading Senior Cup last season - a competition they went on to win.

He now has a lengthy chance to stake a claim to make the No.1 jersey his own, as Withers is expected to be out for between five and six weeks.

Wokingham return to league action tomorrow, where they make the short trip to bottom side and borough rivals Woodley Town (3pm).

As well as missing Withers, the Sumas must also do without the unavailable Jack Gibbs and Jake Butler.

Bateman said: “We haven’t played Woodley Town yet and they are having a very up and down season, but I imagine it will be a tough game.

“But I fancy us against anybody at the moment and we will be expected to go there and get the three points.